Summary: Two thousand years after the fall of Shinra the power of Materia has been once again awaken and the Shinobi world will never be the same again. A Naruto Final Fantasy VII crossover unlike any other.
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More then two thousand years have passed since the fall of Shinra and with it the power of SOLDIER. As the centuries progressed, the magical orbs known as Materia said to contain the knowledge of the Ancients have been lost to the annals of history.
During this time chakra users known as Shinobi rose to become the prominent warriors and assassins in the world with the help of their Bloodlines and techniques known as Jutsus. As the Shinobi rose to power they established their bases of power in what would later become known as the Elemental countries. Each of these countries would play host to villages of Shinobi each with its own philosophies and means of training their own military forces. The Five greatest of these Hidden Villages would be led by a leader known as a Kage.
It would be these Shinobi that all would come to admire in much the same way as they used to admire the Mako Enhanced SOLDIERS of Shinra. As with all things in life it would seem that history has finally come full circle. Now with a most unexpected discovery by an adventurous and curious young child the Shinobi World would be forever turned upside down and nothing will ever be the same again.
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The War between Konoha and Kumo was finally over but it had come at a heavy price the death of the Hero known as the Yellow Flash. Many within the Shinobi World were stunned to learn that the man revered as the Greatest Shinobi in the world had fallen not at the hands of some great adversary but had succumbed to a disease so rare and lethal that even the Great Tsunade was unable to find a cure.
The people of Konoha along with many in the Shinobi World would mourn the death of their greatest hero, the Yondaime Hokage, while his enemies would forever curse the gods for robbing them of their revenge. But it was the life of one small boy that would be affected the most for on this day he would lose not only his Hokage but also his last surviving parent.
Due to a twisted turn of fate young Naruto Namikaze, the son of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, was now an orphan after losing his mother to childbirth and his father to illness. With no living relatives and no one to care for him Naruto was destined to live his life alone until fate once again interceded in the form of the newly reinstated Sandaime Hokage stepping forward and adopting the young Namikaze into his family.
Fate being the cruel mistress that she is is not without her little games and in her twisted sense of humor saw fit to curse our young hero with a rare and debilitating genetic disorder that rendered his chakra system useless. Without the ability to produce chakra the son of the Greatest Shinobi of all time would never be able to follow in his father's footsteps and was condemned to the life of a civilian.
Yet fate was not done with the poor child for she had yet another surprise in store for him, one that would forever change not only the boy's life but that of the entire Shinobi World.
It is here that our story truly begins…
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For the last five years Naruto Namikaze was raised as the adopted grandson of the Sandaime Hokage and while his life was considerably better then most it was not the life he wanted. Naruto sat quietly atop the head of the Fourth Hokage looking down at the Village of Konoha with a mixture of joy and sadness. While it was true that he loved his family and friends he always felt as if something was missing.
Even though he was an orphan taken in by the Sarutobi Clan he had known for the last three years that his real parents had been Shinobi and had loved him very much before they died. As much as he may wish that they were alive to raise him, what he wished for more then anything else in the world was to be a Shinobi like them. Sadly fate had played a cruel joke on him and he had been born with a rare incurable disease that prevented his chakra coils from developing rendering him unable to produce chakra.
While other children his age are going off to the Academy to learn how to become Shinobi, Naruto watches his village from atop the Hokage Monument wishing, for perhaps the tenth time that day, he could protect its citizens the way his Father and Mother had. His thoughts are interrupted however by a rather loud voice from behind him.
"I HAVE FOUND YOU MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT," the voice cries out nearly causing the young boy to fall off the top of the mountain. Just after Naruto's fifth birthday the Hokage decided that since the boy would never be able to become a Shinobi he would still need to learn how to protect himself.
To this end he assigned two Jounin that each Specialized in fields that Naruto could still use even without Chakra. Maito Gai, Konoha's resident Taijutsu Master, taught Naruto hand to hand combat while Hayate Gekkou, Konoha's Top Kenjutsu Master, taught the boy swordsmanship.
"Hi Gai-Sensei," Naruto replies not bothering to turn away from the sight below him, "Is it time for training already?"
"Not yet," Gai tells him in a much more subdued voice noticing the air of sadness surrounding the eight year old, "We've still got some time if you just want to talk."
"I'm sorry," Naruto says, "It's just that all my friends start the Academy today and…"
"And you feel like you're being left behind," Gai finishes understanding the boy's pain better then most ever could. "I understand how you feel Naruto-kun," he tells his student. "It's not easy being different from everyone around you. You feel alienated and alone," the Jounin tells him, "Like no matter how hard you try you're always falling behind your peers."
"Hai," Naruto confirms sadly, "Only I know I'll never be able to catch up. They can all use chakra and I can't," he adds almost bitterly. "It's not fair."
"Life rarely is Naruto-kun," his Sensei tells him sadly.
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"Hokage-sama… Hokage-sama," a frantic woman cries before bursting through the door and into the Hokage's office. "Naruto-sama has been kidnapped…"
Pinching the bridge of his nose to stave off the impending headache the aged leader takes a deep breath before addressing his frantic daughter-in-law. "Suki-chan please calm down," he tells her gently, "Are you certain that he was taken and is not just off on another of his explorations?"
"Well…" the woman begins slowly calming down as she thinks about the question. "Oh Kami…his pack was missing," Suki gasps. "You have to find him before he hurts himself," she pleads with her father-in-law.
"I will dispatch some ANBU to search the caves around the village for him," Sarutobi tells her. "He has wanted to explore them again since last month's earthquake," he reminds the boy's adopted mother.
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Naruto is currently exploring a cave just outside of Konoha using his small lantern to light his way. Two years ago the Hokage had assigned an ANBU Captain to teach Naruto wilderness survival on the weekends and it was during one of these excursions that they had come across these particular caves. That weekend had marked the beginning of Naruto's fascination with exploring and his, at least in his mother's opinion, unhealthy hobby of spelunking.
Using his allowance Naruto bought his own set of spelunking equipment including a lantern, rope, climbing harness with rigging, helmet with attachable light, field rations, first-aid kit, along with elbow and kneepads. He also purchased mapping supplies including blank scrolls ink and paint brush along with standard camping equipment including waterproof matches, tent and sleeping bag.
Naruto and Inu-san, the dog masked ANBU Captain, had originally explored this cave system rather extensively during their survival training last year and the ANBU had been impressed with how quickly the Hokage's eldest grandson had learned. But that was of course before the earthquake last month and as Naruto knows earthquakes can greatly effect cave systems.
"Okay that's new," Naruto comments to himself as he finds an opening not marked on his map. "Looks large enough to fit through." Remembering his lessons on cave exploration Naruto uses some glow in the dark paint to mark the new opening before following the new path to only Kami knows where.
The new tunnel descends at a fairly steep decline and after more then an hour Naruto finally comes to a small open area. Holding his lantern up to light up the opening as much as possible he finds himself in what appears to be some sort of room. The floor is covered with centuries of dust and rubble but gives off a faintly metallic sound with each step he takes. The Walls themselves are so covered with moss and mildew that it is impossible to know what they might have been made of. At the end of the room is an odd shaped opening that in the dim lighting appears to be a doorway leading into another chamber.
As curious as Naruto is to continue his little exploration he's learned enough over the past year to set up a base camp before continuing further into unknown caverns. After clearing an area on the ground he sets up his tent and sleeping bag before sitting down and opening up his current map of the cave system he is in. After a few minutes he finishes making the necessary adjustments to the map and calculates that he is perhaps a little over half a mile underground and about a quarter mile south, southwest from ANBU Headquarters.
Once his camp and current location have been established Naruto continues exploring further and what he soon discovers completely boggles his young mind. After entering the next chamber Naruto finds the remains of what appears to have been some sort of training room complete with the rusted remnants of ancient exercise equipment and practice weapons. In the next room he finds what appears to have been some sort of armory if the rusted and degraded swords and armor are anything to go by.
Continuing his investigation further Naruto is able to conclude that he has stumbled upon the Ancient remains of some kind of military facility. During his exploration he discovered numerous living quarters, a living area, a kitchen and a dinning area along with something that looked to have been at one time a library. All of these things combined with his tour of ANBU Headquarters were what led to his conclusions.
Still curious about what type of Military Force might have once called this place home he uses his climbing gear and descends down a long cylinder type tube until he comes to a rusted set of double doors. Using a utility knife he purchased to go with the rest of his equipment he tries to pry the doors open only for them to disintegrate from centuries of rust and degradation. The rusty copper dust in the air causes Naruto to begin coughing before he covers his moth with a bandana and makes his way deeper into the facility.
What he finds next amazes and astounds his young mind beyond anything he could have ever imagined. All along the walls are machines and tubes encompassing the entire room. Walking over to one of the tubes he tries to read the writing on door. Most of the writing is old and has faded over time but three words are still readable, Mako Saturation Chamber.
"What's that," Naruto asks himself before a slight sparkle of light catches his attention. Looking towards the source he finds an open tube with a small orb resting in the center. The orb sparkles in his lamp light sparking his curiosity even further. Bending down to get a better look Naruto picks the tennis ball sized orb up and it begins to glow briefly before the entire cave begins to shake violently.
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"EARTHQUAKE," someone yells as the ground shakes beneath them. The earthquake last for all of ten seconds and causes very little damage to Konoha beyond the frazzled nerves of the civilians. Its greatest effect however lies not with its destructive power but with the fear that suddenly grips the hearts of a select few living inside Konoha.
"Naruto," they each gasp fearing for the young explorer possibly trapped or crushed in a cave-in.
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High atop Myouboku Mountain a large red feline creature raises its head as a sudden jolt jars it from its previous thoughts. "Materia," it says causing its companions to look at it in confusion. "Someone in Fire Country has just used Materia," it tells them.
"Are you sure Seto," a large man with a mane of wild white hair and two red marks on his cheeks asks.
"Hai Jiraiya," Seto answers. "My tribe is so attuned to the flow of the Lifestream that we can sense its power being used even over such great distances."
"Can you tell where in Fire Country?" the Toad sage asks his "old" friend.
"Konoha," the great beast answers the Sanin.
"Looks like I'm going home then," Jiraiya says sighing slightly. "I wonder what the old man's been up to."
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The Hokage was worried and it showed on his aged features. It has been nearly a week and still the ANBU he sent before the earthquake haven't been able to find Naruto. Thanks to Inu-san they were able to locate the cave system his grandson had been exploring at the time of the earthquake but cave-ins had prevented them from following the boy's trail.
The Hokage was just grateful that the boy had marked his trail so well and that they had a path to follow but unfortunately the process was going much slower then he would have liked. According to the reports from the excavation crews assigned to removing the debris Naruto was in some sort of Ancient Military Facility buried deep under Konoha. From the evidence they've uncovered thus far he was exploring the Facility when he was cut off from his base camp.
A knock at the door pulls him back from his thoughts. "Enter," he tells the person although who enters is not someone he had expected to see again so soon. "Jiraiya," the Sandaime exclaims seeing his former student enter his office with a large red feline creature. "What brings you back to Konoha and who is your friend?" he asks the white-haired man.
"Seto-san here," Jiraiya says indicating the creature beside him, "Sensed someone in Konoha using Materia."
Upon seeing the Hokage's confusion Seto steps forward allowing the older Shinobi to take in his full appearance before elaborating further. The large reddish lion has three white feathers braided into each side of his mane along with a small flame burning on the tip of his tail. On each of his legs are what appears to be intricately carved golden bracelets while tribal tattoos adorn each of his shoulders and hindquarters.
"Materia is condensed Mako energy said to contain the power and knowledge of the Ancients in my Grandfather's time," he explains. "It allows a human to harness the power of the Lifestream and to channel that power into Magic. For more then two thousand years this power was thought to have been lost to all but those of my tribe and one other."
"That is until now," the Hokage offers showing them the reports from the excavation teams. "It would seem that my curious Grandson has uncovered an Ancient Military Facility under Konoha," he tells them. "Not only that but he has managed to get himself lost in this facility and has been missing for over a week."
"That was when I first felt the Materia being used," Seto says looking over the photos. "Shinra," he gasps recognizing the symbol in one of the pictures. "Your Grandson's discovered a Shinra instillation." Seeing the men's confusion he can only sigh before he elaborates further. "Shinra was an organization that controlled most of the known world at the time. They had their own Military that they used to oppress the citizens of the world as well as facilities they used to harness Mako Energy from the Earth for use as a power source."
"This Shinra sounds like a powerful organization," Jiraiya says, "What happened to them?"
"Sephiroth," Seto answers, "He was their greatest SOLDIER and ultimately he would lead to their downfall. It was Sephiroth's defection from Shinra and is subsequent attempt at destroying the Planet that led to my Grandfather and his friends fighting and defeating both Sephiroth and Shinra."
"And you say this all happened over two thousand years ago?" the Hokage asks while silently marveling at what he had just learned.
"Hai Hokage-sama," Seto replies. "I wonder…" he trails off as he begins sniffing the air. "Ah there it is," he says before leaping out the window and racing across the roof tops on his way out of Konoha.
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The excavation teams have just uncovered the passageway leading to an elevator shaft when four ANBU appear with the Hokage and his tow companions. "The scent is stronger down there," the large red lion tells the newcomers peering down the elevator shaft. "Looks like he repelled down using the rope," he tells them before leaping down the shaft himself.
At the bottom of the elevator shaft Seto follows his senses as they guide him through the room were one of the Saturation Chambers is currently in use. His right paw rests on a green orb as a faint smile graces his lips. "Found them," he calls to the others. "Looks like a Quake 3 Materia," he says more to himself them to the others before picking the orb up with his mouth and placing it against one of his bracelets where it is then absorbed.
"Careful," he cautions the ANBU about to open the Tube Naruto is in. "There's no telling what my happen so be ready." The chamber opens and its occupant falls forward and into the waiting arms of the Dog-masked ANBU Captain. As the boy's eyes slowly open his normally bright blue eyes seem to glow in the dimly lit room. "SOLDIER," Seto almost whispers seeing the impossibly blue eyes for the first time. "Mako eyes," he says more to himself then to the others in the room. "The eyes of those enhanced with Mako Energy. These are the hallmark of SOLDIER," he continues as if reciting an almost forgotten verse.
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A/N: And thus ends the first chapter… I know I'm evil but I've got to do something to keep you all coming back for more. Okay cheap tricks aside I wanted to take a moment to say now that while this is a Final Fantasy VII crossover none of the cast of the games will be appearing in this story and YES Sephiroth is DEAD… I wanted to do something original and not just rehashing old crossover ideas.
Also in this story Kyuubi never attacked Konoha and while Bijuu and Jinchuuriki do still exist in this story Kyuubi won't be showing up for quite some time.
I hope you all enjoyed the story thus far and as always please remember to read and review.